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Holmes Family

S E L H S News The newsletter of the Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical Society

Volume 7, No. 5 October, 2007 _____________________________________________________________________________________________

October SELHS Meeting: Cushing Community Center Thursday Oct 19th Business meeting 6:00 pm New Officers Election! (Upstairs)

Program 7:00 pm: Cemeteries, Burials, Gravestones and Ghosts

William Holmes came to America from Scotland and

settled first in Sunrise and later on Trade River at Holmes Lake

Mary Osaga Maingan Holmes, an Ojibwa who had been educated at the Mission

School at Pokegama.

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Holmes Lake and Trade River William Holmes, a Scotsman, came to Sunrise MN in the 1848. He settled at Amador on the West Side of the St Croix River (Nevers Dam), then moved to Sunrise, MN. He married a Chippewa woman Mary Osaga Maingain. They moved to the Trade River area and homesteaded in 1868 on what is now called Holmes Lake. Above the lake is the Holmes cemetery where the Catholic Church they attended stood. Gus Berg built a dam in the early 1900's. This was constructed on a northern section of

the Trade River. There was also a cemetery at this location. Among the descendants was Reverend Frank Holmes. He was born in 1915 and passed away in 2003. He served as a missionary in many foreign countries and later became an evangelist to the American and Canadian Indians. He was a very talented musician and singer. Frank Holmes was also able to speak, fluently, the Swedish language. Trade River was logged off two times. In the 1850s, the huge virgin white pines were cut and floated down Trade River to be

sawed into lumber at Stillwater. In about 1900- 1910, the second growth white pine, jack pine and red pine were cut and again

floated down Trade River to the St. Croix and on to Stillwater. Trade River was a thriving little town in

1900 with a furniture factory, creamery, sawmill, church, store, school, blacksmith and other businesses. The dam on the river

ran the mill during the day and provided electric power for the neighbors 20 miles away.

The Holmes Catholic Church and Cemetery by Stanley Selin

William Holmes emigrated from Scotland to Minnesota in the 1840s. He married Mary Osagi, an Indian woman, and had nine children. He lived for a time in Sunrise, Minnesota. He moved to Wisconsin in 1864, homesteading 160 acres on the west side of what is known today as Holmes Lake, located on the border of Trade Lake and Anderson townships. One of his sons, George, was born on September 2nd, 1848 at Sunrise. When George Holmes was 16 years old, he began

working in the woods for the Abraham Nelson logging operation in Taylors Falls. Abe Nelson was the first to cut down the virgin white pine timber in the Trade River area. Holmes was well-liked and people used to ask him questions about logging, weather,

and crop conditions. His answers were often right and were always colorful. He gestured with his hands and arms, indicating that many pine logs were over three feet in diameter in the early days. George Holmes sitting next to his wife

Catherin Cloud (Newanenekwe) about 1930. The ladies are offering hand-

made pillows for sale.

The Sacred Heart Mission Chapel, an Indian Catholic church built about 1890 and dismantled

in 1940.

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By the late 1800s, catholic missionaries in the Trade River area had made a number of conversions among the Ojibwa (Chippewa) tribe, so plans were made to erect a chapel or small church. In 1890, a parcel of land was purchased and the Sacred Heart Mission Church was established. Best known in the Indian history of this church was George Holmes, who was very involved in the affairs of the church. His love of the catholic faith was so great that he spent all the time he

could telling his fellow men about the teachings of the church. The Sacred Heart Mission Church was used until about 1920, when the mission was closed. By this time, there were few Indians remaining in the area. The chapel was torn down about 1940, but on the church grounds the Holmes Catholic Indian Cemetery remains to this day. George Holmes died on November 13, 1935, at the age of 87 years. Six children preceded him in death.

River Road Ramble

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Cushing Memory Room

SELHS has gotten the Memory Room ready for the public! It is located upstairs in the Cushing Community Center. There is a back driveway off of 240th Street (Mainstreet) just over the hill north of the main intersection in Cushing. We are looking for objects, documents, books, pictures etc of local historic interest to put in the memory room. We will take items as donations or on temporary loan. We are hoping to have regular local history hours starting in 2008. In the meantime, if you would like to see what we have or do some research on old records you can contact one of the officers to make an appointment to visit the room. As part of our share of the cost of maintaining the Cushing Community Center, SELHS paid over $800 to have the locks repaired, replaced and access to the building secured.

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SELHS Membership Form Send completed form and check Made to SELHS to SELHS P.O. BOX 731 Cushing, Wi 54006 Membership Levels Individual Life $10.00 $100.00 All memberships in excess of $10 as well as any additional donations to the Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical Society are fully deductible.

Name__________________________________ Address________________________________ City _______________State____Zip_________ Phone__________________________________ Email__________________________________

Local History Books and booklets

-Stories of the Trade River Valley $15 -Stories of the St Croix Valley $15 -Doc Squirt $5 -HenningsFamily $3 -Wolf Creek School $5 -Sunrise Ferry $5 -Early History of the St Croix Valley $5

Coming in 2008 – History of Cushing Help us with stories and get a free copy

SELHS 2007 Officers: President: Marcie Marquardt 715 648-5505 Vice President: Mark Johnson 715-648-5213 Sec/Treasurer: Donna Blair 715-483-3112 Newsletter: Russ Hanson 715-488-2776

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